saigoheiki.com

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I’ve been out a lot lately.

I’m actually very inspired at the moment to write a further 7 short stories to compile into a collection of short stories, of which I’ll self-publish it. :D It has been a long, suppressed dream – something I thought of as ridiculous and an unattainable feat before (because I always thought that my works are always not as good as the ones out there in the market), but with the advent of self-publishing.. I think it’s very possible. Who cares if less than 10 people actually purchase my book – it’s just very self-satisfying to see my bloody work in print!

I already have a few ideas thrown about in my head – the title, the cover, the layout, the stories, etc. But with the mountains of college work and language classes-related homework piling up against me, I really don’t have the time to pursue it. :/ Might take a few years before this book actually happens for real.

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Day 4 – Monday, 28th July 2008

We woke up at about 10am and ate our complimentary breakfast (I had banana pancake), then we went to a nearby 2nd hand bookstore to purchase some books – I bought “Thai – A Rough Guide Phasebook” for 160baht (after discount from 180baht), while Albert had a questionable British magazine of the opposite sex wearing next to nothing for 80baht lol.

Group picture! It’s as if we have to take at least one group pic of ourselves everyday, ‘cause we don’t have many such pics. :/

My gelled hairdo, thanks to Albert.

We went to MBK for a while to meet up with Matt’s girl-friends, and we shopped around again wtf (excluding myself). Some of the girls have actually finished spending every single baht and were now using their credit cards. -___-

At MBK, I thought of taking the opportunity to buy the lens hood for my Canon 10-22mm for 1900baht (VAT inclusive), after trying to decide between a Hoya CPL filter for 22xxbaht and the lens hood. Also learned from the same male staff who attended to me that my Computrekker camera bag actually contains that elusive raincover that I’ve been trying to locate. :D

For lunch, we ate Hainan Chicken Rice for 40baht. Finishing that, we walked all the way to Siam Paragon while asking the locals along the way (who were all generally helpful) and lepak-ed there for a bit. A photography gallery was going on, and the pics there impressed me greatly as some merely used their kit lenses to produce such fine photos. One photo also used my Canon 10-22mm lol, and most of the pics were already sold. It’s a real dream alright to see one of my own pics at such a gallery/exhibition one day.

A look at Siam Paragon. For some odd reason, despite the fact that I can’t afford anything that goes inside there (the local woman whom we asked directions to Paragon for told us too that if we’re there just to “see see” it’ll be alright if we don’t shop), I always recommend people to go there to be impressed by their luxuriousness and architecture.. though I now doubt people actually share my same view.

Another look. Oh, I had a “thought I lost my passport” moment again =.=” God I think I’m beginning to turn to a frigging paranoid. Just as we were walking out from Siam Paragon, I felt the pouch beneath my pants, and couldn’t seem to feel it (that was because my heavy bag was obstructing me from feeling it properly) and I thought I dropped it and said, “Guys, something’s not right” or something and later found that it was there all along. >_>

Outside Siam Paragon before we hitched a taxi. We were so bloody tired from all the walking by then.

Albert asked me to stay awake and so I did wtf. Can camwhore some more at such a short distance with my ultra wide angle lens. :)

A grand tree at one of the junctions of Soi Rambuttri.

We went back to our hotel – I had to borrow like RM200 from Albert and then have them converted to Thai baht. :/ If anyone’s going to Bangkok, particularly Khaosan Road, Rainbow Exchange at the corner of the route in Soi Rambuttri (near said tree in the pic above) provides the best exchange rate.

I then walked around on my own for a bit – collecting my laundry that I sent away earlier that morning (it was 25baht/kg, and mine was 38baht for 1.4kg). It was done in merely 6 hours and I collected it at around 6.40pm. Had a nice, short alone time to snap pics too.

Where I did my laundry, if you can make out the words at the centre of the pic.

I went to the cybercafe too – a coin-operated one, something that you’ll never see in Malaysia. As it was 10baht for 20 minutes, all you have to do is to insert the 10baht coin into the designated hole, and the countdown timer will start running from 20 minutes. When it reaches the final 5 minutes, the countdown timer will start to blink too, and when time runs out, your keyboard and mouse will not function anymore. >_> I initially wanted to use it for only 20 minutes, but as time goes on I went on and used it for an hour lol.

I then went back to our room at slightly after 8pm, then after a while we left to Patpong, the red light district.

Super Pussy! Last year when I was in Bangkok with Siew we saw the same exact thing, and god it brings back memories. =) (Not that we’ve entered Super Pussy.. erm that sounds wrong wtf.) And the guy in yellow in this pic are like any few dozens of annoying, persistent buggers who try to persuade you to watch “ping-pong shows” or “live sex shows” wtf – I was so annoyed by them after being approached for the 105226th time that I wanted to buy a T-shirt that screams “NO, I DON’T WANT A F***ING TUK-TUK, SUIT, OR MASSAGE” or something similar so I can point the “NO, I DON’T WANT” words in caps on the tee when I wear it on the spot.

Finished with our tour at Patpong, we went back to our hotel at around 1am.

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Day 5 – Tuesday, 29th July 2008

We woke up at 11.15am to Matt saying that our free breakfast was over, but in actual fact it was really at 11.30am. Blurry-eyed, we made a move to the lobby and had our breakfast – I had scrambled eggs with ham.

I had an odd vivid dream of suddenly having my dream Tokina 11-16mm in my hands in a camera shop, and I was debating whether to return it honestly to the shop owner or not wtf damn weird dream.

Random observation: When I was in the toilet trying to pangsai (something that seems a little hard to do when I was in Thailand), I suddenly noticed there was a rubberband around my right wrist and I muttered out loud, “Oh what the hell”. It was from my Computrekker’s extensive straps that I took out.

We walked around our area too after that – generally just doing a little of exploration, side-shopping, and eating.

Loads of food stalls crowded on the sidewalk.

We spotted a Kumon centre while walking around.

Eventually I stopped here with my other two fellow travellers for a very late lunch.. a quaint eatery with rustic atmosphere that sells pork noodles in soup.

My finished small bowl of pork noodles for 20baht IIRC.

After finished walking around, we rested in our room and waited for Wena to text us when they’re here.

And when they did that, Albert and I went to look for the Chanasongkram Police Station where they were supposed to be at. The both of us also obtained 4 bottles of Colgate Plax samples that some Colgate girls were passing out, and after a while, Wena and the other girls came.

I walked all the way back to our room which took about 10 minutes, and saw Matt sitting at the lobby watching TV, presumably waiting for us. I then led him to the police station, and on the way we saw a Korean couple (at least I think they were Korean), and the girl sniffed right in the open the man’s hairy armpits whose hands were in the air WTF. We also met up with Albert at the police station at the designated time of 6pm sharp.

We walked around mostly at Khaosan, and I finally bought another tee with witty strings of text that I really liked.

The angmoh lady was ‘ambushed’ by the crowd of women who were peddling their ethnic crafts.

The busy Khaosan Road – the variety that they sell here is many, there were even a few stalls that sell a service to create fake IDs and journalist/photographer passes. I was tempted to get one done ‘cause it was only 200baht.

We eventually ate dinner – this pic depicts Wang Lee Hom! Do you know why! ‘cause there’s 黄绿红 wtf (pronounced as huang2, lü4, hong2, which means yellow, green, and red respectively) – yeah Matt told me this joke, and I reckon the joke would kinda be lost if you don’t understand Chinese at all.

Another group picture!

Then the girls lepak-ed in our room and we snapped jumping pics. Oh, and before reaching our room, Matt kindly reminded me to get 2 bottles of beer for myself (like I had always done every night wtf) to store in our fridge, ‘cause 7-Eleven has a policy of not selling alcohol after 12am haih.

Hahahaha I liked how the blue-dress girl tried to ‘grab’ the sun (sorry don’t know all of their names wtf except for the middle girl whose name’s Josephine I think).

LOL Albert’s and my expression damn funny.

At about 10pm we walked around and sent them off.

Albert’s funny expression is revealed here again at a food stall – forgot what it was that they sold.

We then returned to our room, lepak-ed, I drank my routine beer and chit-chatted with mostly Albert as Matt wanted to sleep. I then dozed off at about 1am.